Legion of Honor

This past Saturday I went up to the Palace of the Legion of Honor with my friends, Oscar and Myles, and my husband, Bryan. I've been to the Legion of Honor before and I love this museum. It has a fantastic permanent collection, wonderful exhibits, and is situated in Lincoln Park which has a beautiful view of the San Francisco bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. 

Here, Oscar and I are posed in front of a copy of the wonderful Laocoon statue. The original statue was a Greek sculpture of the Hellenistic period, found incomplete. The arm extended upward is a modern restoration addition. The fig leaf that Oscar is pointing to is also a later addition (the original, of course, being nude). I love this sculpture and I love the story behind it (if you have time, look it up, it has to do with the Trojan War). Thanks, Professor Thickpenny, for sending our class to the Legion of Honor for our paper assignment. :) 

Also, for any of those interested in visiting the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, you gain general, same day admission to the de Young Museum (nearby and also worth the visit). Please visit the links below for more information:

Legion of Honor

de Young

Artists To Check Out

I'm very fortunate that I live in an artistic community, that people here value and cherish art. I'm also very fortunate that I know many amazing artists. I want to share their websites because these guys are great and are really going places. Please check out the links below for some awesome art...

Cuong Nguyen 

I met Cuong at the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara, at the opening of his solo show: ASPECTS: Multiple Faces, Multiple Views (September 29 - November 11, 2012). I was blown away by the talent this artist has, his work is amazing. And he is such a nice guy and just a pleasure to talk to. Cuong is really going places and I wish him nothing but the best.

Oscar Lars

Oscar is a crazy guy, a good friend, and an awesome artist. I've been friends with this guy for a while now (we met at Mission College and have had many of the same art instructors) and his art just continues to improve with each new painting and drawing. He works hard at his art and he inspires others to keep working hard too.

Miha Sarani

I also met Miha at Mission College (seems to be a great artist hangout) and was just wowed by his art. He is a fantastic illustrator and has a very creative and unique painting style, you won't find art like his anywhere else.

Wadl 
I was in a group show at a local Starbucks called stARTbucks - When Passions Collide (March 31, 2012) when I first viewed Patrick "Wadl" Hofmeister's art. Holy cow, can this dude paint. I literally could not stop starring at his paintings (there's so much to see!). He is so creative and talented, especially check out his "pattern" paintings (they show some serious skill and patience).

Now these aren't the only awesome artists I know, but I don't want to overload you right now so expect some more soon! :)

Seed Show at the Citadel

With Oscar Knutsson and his piece Self-Portrait

 Seed Show, the Citadel

March 23, 2013

This past Saturday at the Citadel, in downtown San Jose, was the very awesome Seed Show. This show was great and had lots of amazing art (painting, drawing, sculpture, and installation). My buddy, Oscar, participated with his piece Self-Portrait.

Check out my friend's website for great art:

Oscar Lars

Triton Museum of Art Spring Art Fair

Triton Musuem of Art Spring Art Fair

March 23, 2013

This past Saturday at the Triton Museum of Art was the annual Spring Art Fair. This was my first year participating and I had a great time. I was able to meet other local artists and crafters and check out some great art. Thank you to all who came out and helped support my art and the Triton Museum of Art.

For more information on the Triton Museum of Art, 

please click on the following link:

Triton Museum of Art 

The Field Where I Died

The Field Where I Died

ink and watercolor on watercolor paper

started late 2012 (in progress)

I have been working on this large piece for a little while now and I am really pleased with how it is coming along so far. I first drew the image on watercolor paper using Pigma Micron 005 ink pens and then painted it in with watercolors.

I will discuss my subject matter after I have posted the completed image (so stay tuned!).

S. Dali #2

Salvador Dali

black and white charcoal on toned pastel paper, 9 inches by 12 inches

March 2013

S. Dali

Salvador Dali (As a Youth)

charcoal on sketchbook paper

February 2013

If you know me, you know my favorite painter of all time is Salvador Dali. I recently picked up a book on Dali called Treasures of Dali which is absolutely wonderful and even contains replicas of Dali memorabilia. There was a picture of him in there where he was quite young and I adored it (so I had to draw it!).

Moon Goddess

Moon Goddess

black and white charcoal on cardboard, approx. 11 inches by 14 inches

February 2013

I drew this after listening to one of Preston Metcalf's lectures on art history at the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara, California. The lecture I attended was on the history and art of tattooing (primarily, where did tattooing and the images there were originally tattooed come from?). It was a fascinating and there was a section of his lecture where he spoke about a "goddess" (that was much more ancient than the popular male deities of the past). Long story short, I was inspired to create this drawing from that lecture. 

If you're ever in the South Bay Area and you enjoy art history, I would definitely recommend dropping in on one of Preston Metcalf's lectures: Triton Museum Art History

Lips and Eye

Lip Service and Eye with Influence from Dredd

colored pencil on toned paper, 8 inches by 10 inches each

February 2013

Lip Studies

Lip Studies

pencil or charcoal on sketchbook paper

January - February 2013

I love drawing lips. They are such an intimate and unique part of the body. The first drawing is in pencil and the subsequent drawings are in charcoal. I found that I could gain better values with the charcoal and this made certain features, like the teeth and highlights, stand out more.

Ear Studies

Ear Studies

pencil on sketchbook paper

January 2013

Ears are a bit of a challenge for me to draw. I tend to oversimplify them whenever I draw heads. I did these ear studies (my husband's and my ear) to force myself to slow down and draw more of the detail and shading.

Eye Studies

Eye Studies

pencil or charcoal on sketchbook paper

January - February 2013

Eyes are always fun to draw and though I don't always use a reference, I did with all the ones above (my husband's eye, my eye, and the one at the bottom is Salvador Dali). For these I tried different methods of shading, experimenting, to see which would look better. I feel I need to do more studies with charcoal since I can gain such dark shadows with that medium.